Condemning the alleged rape and murder of a minor girl in New Delhi, the Dharwad District Committee of All India Mahila Samskrutika Sanghatane (AIMSS) has demanded strict punishment of the perpetrators.
A delegation comprising of AIMSS district president Madhulata Goudar, vice-president Gangubai Kokare, and Joint Secretary Devamma Devatkal submitted a memorandum in this regard to the district authorities on Friday. It said this was another shock to the country, that was yet to recover from the shock of the Hathras gang rape case in Uttar Pradesh. The 9-year old who had gone to fetch water from the cooler had been raped by the priest of the graveyard and others and then killed. When the girl’s mother questioned them about the incident, she had been told a lie that she died of electrocution and cremation had been in a hurry to cover up the issue. What was shocking was that even the police had joined hands in covering up the issue by not filing the FIR in connection with the incident, the AIMSS members alleged in the memorandum.
It was highly condemnable that even after 74 years after Independence, the mentality of considering women as ‘an object of pleasure’ was still prevalent. Rapes of women and minor girls were continuing unabated because the policing system and the administration’s inactivity had allowed rapists to roam free in society, the members said.
They said that slogans like ‘Beti Bachao Beti Badhao’ had lost meaning because they were not supported by requisite action on the ground. They demanded a ban on pornographic literature and films and sought that the recommendations of Verma Committee be implemented. AIMSS would also demand stringent punishment for the rapists, they said.